"Fully Autonomous Driving Technology" Exaggerated Claim
US Federal Court Judge: "It's Not a Lie"
Opportunity Given to Amend and Resubmit Complaint
Some Tesla shareholders filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, accusing him of lying about the company's autonomous driving technology, but the case was dismissed by a U.S. court.
According to major foreign media including Bloomberg, Martinez Olguin, a judge at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, dismissed the lawsuit filed by Tesla shareholders on the 30th (local time). The plaintiffs took issue with Musk's promotion of Tesla's advanced driver assistance software 'FSD (Full Self-Driving)' by saying that "drivers can sleep inside the car." They also claimed that the truth about Tesla's actual technology caused the stock price to fall, resulting in losses for shareholders, but Musk sold $39 billion worth of shares over several years before the stock price dropped, according to the complaint.
However, Judge Martinez Olguin ruled that some of Musk's statements pointed out by the plaintiffs were related to 'future plans,' and other statements were not necessarily false. The judge also said there was no evidence showing that Musk's stock sale profits were obtained at the expense of other shareholders' losses.
Nonetheless, the judge gave the plaintiffs an opportunity to amend and resubmit the complaint.
Several other lawsuits raising issues related to Tesla's FSD, which is being developed with the goal of full autonomous driving, are also underway. Consumers who purchased Tesla's FSD have filed separate class-action lawsuits against Tesla, which are currently in progress. Lawsuits filed by victims of accidents related to Autopilot, a lower version of FSD, are also ongoing. The U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating whether Tesla misled consumers or investors while promoting Autopilot and FSD.
Since releasing FSD in 2021, Tesla has improved the software through updates, but despite the name 'Full Self-Driving,' drivers still need to remain attentive and be ready to intervene while using the system.
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